Many fans wonder why Chelsea women’s Champions League matches are always at Stamford Bridge, due to UEFA requirements.
But why has Chelsea not done anything about this?
Well, they have tried, but Kingston Council has refused the club's request to upgrade the stadium to meet UEFA requirements.
Something that has led to fixture clashes and concerns over player welfare as they have to plan around when the men’s team need Stamford Bridge.
Something we saw last year with Arsenal and the Emirates: the women’s team was playing at Meadow Park because they couldn't play at the Emirates when the men needed it.
Arsenal upgraded their stadium to meet the requirements ahead of this season and have played all their home league fixtures there.
But the local council appears the real issue is related to the stadium's physical limitations and complex ownership/lease arrangement, rather than an explicit ‘refusal’ of a specific application for upgrades.
The council refuses on the grounds of possible disruption or impact on residential property.
The Borough of Kingston Upton Thames owns the freehold of the stadium land, while Chelsea has owned the leasehold since 2016.
The council has historically put itself in discussions about the stadium's use and its impact on local clubs.
In essence, Chelsea is likely constrained by the inherent limitations of the Kingsmeadow site, UEFA's strict requirements, and the council's limited ability to facilitate significant changes, all of which are shaped by existing agreements.
The team has ultimately grown out of Kingsmeadow; it is not well-connected to public transport, which sometimes deters fans.
The greater the increase in fan attendance, the greater the players' safety concerns, which have prevented them from completing autographs.
Other issues include the venue's pitch condition, which has led to postponements, for example, against Liverpool in the 2022/23 season, where the game was cancelled after five minutes due to ice because the pitch did not have under-turf heating.
As the WSL's broadcasts have grown, TV cameras have sometimes also obstructed fans' views.
Kingston Council has prevented a proposed Kingsmeadow extension, primarily due to residents' concerns about the development's height, density, and character in relation to the local area.
Objections also cited insufficient parking for the development and existing residents, as well as potential negative impacts like noise and loss of privacy.
Residents raised concerns that the proposed development was too tall, too dense, and out of character with the surrounding properties.
The proposal was criticised for a lack of parking provision for the development itself, and concerns were raised about the potential for increased congestion from existing residents as well.
But this lack of change at Kingsmeadow is impacting the game's development. If the stadium is high-level and well-equipped, it will draw more people. Preventing development will only push Chelsea out, and that will impact the economy and the area's appeal.
They are directly preventing the game from growing by preventing Kingsmeadow from growing with Chelsea. If Chelsea leaves this stadium, it will likely fall apart due to a lack of financial investment and desire.
The council is more interested in surrounding residential developments, and there have been proposals to include residential units, school use, and sports facilities in the area.
In 2021, the council considered a proposal to lease part of the Kingsmeadow site to the Department for Education for a new Church of England secondary school, subject to planning permission.
Because the council are unwilling to be flexible and approve extensions to the grounds to ensure it meets the UEFA requirements include space for VAR the ground will likely never be changed unlike Meadow park who did there own improvements to ensure Arsenal still played on occasions there to keep connected with the women’s game and see it as financial investments Kingston seem to want to stunt the growth instead of being an ally.
Meadow park have done some significant improvements including the movement and enlargement of the stadium pitch, relocation of the dugouts into the West Stand, improvements to East Stand spectator facilities and sight lines, installation of stadium CCTV and control room and substantial upgrades to existing stadium floodlights from 500 to 800 lux, as well as the development of a new supporter fan zone area in the south-east corner to improve away fan experience at the south end of the stadium.
One can only hope this happens for Chelsea, and if Kingston council blocks it, Chelsea will move elsewhere to ensure its long-term growth is not stunted.
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